Pranayama (breathing) exercises are central to yoga.

This is an excellent video.

[tags]pranayama, breathing, yoga breathing[/tags]

One of the benefits of yoga is that it’s excellent for anyone who’s prone to anxiety; it can even help depression. You find that ten or 20 minutes of yoga leaves you feeling refreshed, balanced, and energized.

If you were worried about something before your yoga session, you’ll find that the worry vanishes — your problem, whatever it was, no longer feels so important, and you feel able to handle it.

How does yoga do this?

Psychology Today: Yoga: Not Just an Exercise reports:

“According to Stephen Cope, a psychotherapist and author of Yoga and the Quest for the True Self, hatha yoga’s postures improve mood by moving energy through places in the body where feelings of grief or anger are stored. ‘Hatha yoga is an accessible form of learning self-soothing,’ he says. ‘These blocked feelings can be released very quickly, [creating a] regular, systemic experience of well-being.’ Yoga students may also benefit from their relationship with the yoga instructor, Cope said, which can provide a ‘container’ or a safe place for investigating, expressing and resolving emotional issues. The instructor’s encouraging and accepting words may also help students defeat self-limiting notions.”

If you’re a born worrier, suffer panic attacks, or are prone to depression, give yoga a try.

[tags]yoga, depression, moods, well being[/tags]

Angry? The economic mess evokes deep emotions, whether you have a job or not. Yoga can help can you to manage anger and other strong emotions.

A.I.G. Revenge Is All the Rage, but It Isn’t Healthy – NYTimes.com reports:

“Standing on your head can also help, said Carlos Menjivar, a teacher at the Jivamukti Yoga School, where attendance is up 30 percent since November. ‘When we are in headstand, we are turning the world upside down,’ he said. ‘Guess what’s happened with this crisis? It’s turning the world upside down. The yogis are used to this and they don’t get frazzled.’”

In your daily life, remember to breathe. Stand in tadasana for a couple of minutes, it’s centering and calming.

You can manage whatever life throws at you, and eliminate toxic emotions with yoga.

[tags]anger, center, tadasana, stress[/tags]